Roofing Cement Is Not a Band-Aid
Roof cement (sometimes called asphalt roof cement or flashing cement) serves as a vital part of holding a roof together. It can be a great temporary fix to patch a leak or affix a loose shingle, but it’s neither a permanent nor entirely satisfactory solution.
Roof cement which comes in tubes or cans and can be easily applied with a trowel or caulking gun. It dries quickly, but curing process might take longer – a few days.
Cost-Effective
Roofing cement can be an inexpensive way to seal up leaks and patch holes in your shingles, but it shouldn’t be used as a long-term solution unless you have to wait for roofers or replacement roofer services to come fix more substantial damage up.
It might need extra waterproofing cement depending on where it is – for climates prone to salt water corrosion or regional variations in humidity and temperature. Now your roof’s concrete might be protected from further environmental influences and their corrosiveness – saltwater, humidity, temperature fluctuation – that might threaten its integrity. You would have a good feeling as a homeowner.
For the best heat performance, choose polymer-modified roofing cement rather than standard cutback asphalt products – the higher initial cost will be worth it for superior results and avoidance of problems down the road. Finally, and at all times, do routine roof maintenance, to not only keep your roof operating at optimal performance and provide warm air to your home but also to detect problems before they become repair bills.
Easy to Apply
elastic cement will allow you to plug holes and cracks in your roof almost instantly, working as patching material for gutter and pipe seams and joints to prevent leaks; easily spread and applied, it makes long-term repairs a breeze, and it’s odourless and water soluble so it’s easy to clean away.
Before applying roof cement, check that a surface is clean of dust or debris that could hinder bondage. Also, watch out for warranties being voided by using incompatible surfaces; consult with the manufacturer or a specialist if you’re unsure what kind of surface you’ll be working with.
Plastic roof cement (sometimes called roofing mastic or pookie) consists of cutback asphalt with petroleum-based solvents and additives added to make a stronger hold. It’s a great patch for leaky joints and base flashings around chimneys, vent pipes, gutters, down spouts, metal flanges, or cracks in concrete.
Long-Lasting
Western Colloid #805 elastic cement is the ideal product for long-term shingle and flashing repairs. Its plastic formula gives the emulsified asphalt base enough pliability to flow from the can and onto damaged surfaces, where it bonds almost immediately with the substrate.
Roofing cement is far stronger than tar. It will remain flexible under the heaviest traffic and under the weather for years — won’t sag nor crack from rain and snow — and is guaranteed to look like new!
Using what is called the 3-course application, I would use roof cement for long-term, durable repairs (this is a systematic method of thinly applying roof cement to embed mesh-reinforcement fabric into patches). This method works quite well for vinyl tabs: ⁃ Spread an 1/8 to 1/4 inch (0.32 to 0.64 cm) thin coat of roof cement over damaged areas and coat outward in all four directions three inches. ⁃ Embed the mesh reinforcement fabric into patches with up to three separate, thin coats of roof cement spread over the entire 3 inches coated around the patch. ⁃ Top the abutted three coats of roof cement spread over the entire edge of the patch with another thin coat and sprinkle sand over it. ⁃ Spread another thin coat onto the patch sprinkled with sand which is cured by sunlight. This top-spread thin coat sand-sprinkled-and-cured-by-sunlight reinforces the patch against expansion/contraction between extreme temperature and reinforces the patch against expansion/contraction between expansion/contraction cycles in all directions to prevent leaks.
Versatile
Roof cement, which can be used to patch leaky areas, reattach broken features or reinforce seams, is the typical solution. Inexpensive and readily available at most hardware stores, roofing cement is nicknamed elastic cement or roof mastic because it is noncombustible and water based, making it the logical solution for facility managers looking to cut their repair costs by stopping small areas of damage before they worsen and invite water into the facility.
You can see the difference in that the elastomeric roof mastic, which needs to be applied in much thicker coverage using a trowel, is very different and wouldn’t work well at all when applied using spray or squeegee methods. Use roofing cements only on surfaces on which they are intended to be used. Make sure to read the manufacturer’s instructions or talk to a professional to avoid poor adhesion and problems resulting from poor adhesion.
Whether you get ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) for roofing depends on your pockets as well as what you expect out of your roof. OPC may be the cheapest option in terms of purchase, but you can save on maintenance costs in the long run if you pay a little more and get a better option in either Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC) or Sulphate Resisting Cement (SRC).